and so i think that president obama has a record in a debate. we know who he is. he means what he says. and i think that this is the failure of romney's campaign, throughout the entire narrative of this campaign, we've never been able to really know who this guy is. he has to play tonight. >> i think chris's point about emotional intelligence is really important. but i will say this. training can get people to places they haven't been before. when president obama began, everyone said he was too professorial, too diffident, he didn't have that elmpathic quality. >> and when people are having a good time, you like them. we're having a good time. do you like us? we are now just a couple of minutes away from the big show. this is my favorite night in politics. this is part of the reason we are excited here. this is msnbc's live coverage of the first presidential debate. we're right back. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development com